Expanded polystyrene: Benefits and applications
All you need to know about the popular thermal insulation material with the remarkable benefits and the wide range of application, as well as the top commercial products guaranteed to upgrade your home and any construction project.
Expanded polystyrene or the acronym EPS, is the same lightweight, stiff yet foamy thermal insulation material widely used in building and construction works, in homes and all sorts of buildings, and in food packaging as well. Due to its low cost and great benefits, EPS is widely used for more than half a century in the USA and Europe.
Expanded polystyrene boards consist of 98% entrapped air and are marketed in several thickness sizes to meet the requirements of different construction projects. The modern, advanced forms of this material expand its possible uses and constitute a benchmark for all construction projects that aim for efficient insulation and energy upgrade.
Extruded polystyrene is a material similar to expanded polystyrene, with similar properties. Furthermore, EPS Graphite by BIOCLIMA is among the best polystyrene types available in the Hellenic market. It contains graphite in its mass to assist in heat restriction (graphite particles are not infrared radiation - absorbing), supplementing EPS White, the tried and tested product by BIOCLIMA.
Advantages of expanded polystyrene
Expanded polystyrene is easy to transport, handle and install; it is resistant to low and high temperature extremes (-80 οC to +80 oC inclusive), and provides high mechanical strength and seismic isolation. But its main features are the following:
High thermal insulation protection
The product provides a perfect match with the majority of construction materials, from concrete to gypsum and render, ensuring effective thermal insulation throughout the whole year. It is a transpiring material; it allows condensates passing through to avoid accumulation inside the structure.
Exceptional resistance to ageing
Service life of expanded polystyrene may even exceed a century (according to research), in fact without degradation of its properties, and also without apparent wear or deterioration. It is a literally timeless material that retains its mechanical properties against pressure.
Environment - friendly material
It is a non - toxic, chemically inert material, immune to fungi and bacteria. It uses recycled materials for its construction, to an appreciable percentage; furthermore, it is naturally recyclable. Moreover, the carbon footprint of the material is minimal, meaning that the environment is not harmed from its manufacture.
Applications of expanded polystyrene
Fields of application refer to buildings in their entirety, in the framework of implementing a thermal insulation system, from the roof to the foundation and evidently, all wall surfaces. It is available in various final surface, weight and thickness combinations; hence it can be used universally in building construction applications. It should be noted that compression strength allow adaptation to specific, demanding systems such as beam and block construction; in underfloor heating systems; and underneath cement slabs. As of the demonstrated mechanical strength, expanded polystyrene is widely employed by engineers for filling of concreting. Generally, expanded polystyrene is applied to the following:
- Roofs: Meaning ceilings, terraces and sloping roofs.
- Walls: All house walls, notably exterior thermal insulation, in other words the outer building walls.
- Basements: Around basement walls, floors and similar.
Fire behaviour
Εxpanded polystyrene is a class E self - extinguishing material; this implies that it is attacked by contact with fire, but cannot disseminate it when fire is removed.
BIOCLIMA offers two excellent expanded polystyrene solutions. These are EPS White and EPS Graphite; they are manufactured according to the latest standards and are the material of choice of engineers, construction technical staff and the likes of them. EPS White & EPS Graphite (80, 100, 150, 200) are white and graphite-based, respectively, expanded polystyrene board types. EPS Graphite thermal insulation boards stand out as the graphite contained in the mass of the product, contributes in containing the heat generated, resulting in reduced thermal conductivity coefficient (λ), compared to EPS thermal insulation boards. Both polystyrene products, white and graphite-based, are classified in several types according to compression strength, measures in kPa. They are commercialized in several thickness sizes.
ΕPS White & EPS Graphite thermal insulation boards are certified according to ΕΝ 13163. They are part of the certified ClimaWall® Advanced Energy Building Systems by BIOCLIMA®, as insulation materials compliant to EAD 040083-00-0404.